Almost any small, medium and large business needs advertising. Without the use of this tool, simply no one will know about the existence of the company. One of the most affordable and effective ways to tell about yourself is print advertising. This variety of species and affordable prices for such products make it one of the most popular ways of communication between the manufacturer and the consumer. It should also be noted that this marketing tool can also be used as corporate advertising. What is so attractive about this type of communication? Is it really beneficial? You can find answers to these questions in the article.
Definition of print advertising
To understand this type of communication, you first need to know its academic definition. So, print advertising is a marketing message that is distributed through the channels of printing media. For example, through leaflets, brochures,posters, booklets.
Print advertising can be placed in periodicals: newspapers, magazines, even books. The published periodicals will simultaneously act as advertisements for printed materials.
Print advertising as a marketing tool
The effectiveness of the organization of communication between the producer and the consumer or between the seller and the consumer is based on the correct choice of the way of delivering the desired message. In this case, a message means advertising text, information about discounts and promotions, new products, bonuses.
You can use different channels for transmission and distribution, such as advertising in newspapers or magazines. Letterheads, catalogs and brochures are also types of print advertising. This list can be supplemented with business cards, stationery and newsletters can be used to convey certain marketing messages.
Long live the Internet
In addition to magazines and newspapers that you can hold in your hands, there are also electronic publications or electronic versions of physical publications. It also contains advertisements, but can it be considered printed? Not really. Although this type of marketing communication may appear "printed", it is a separate set of marketing efforts - digital. Therefore, an article published in a newspaper may be a print advertisement, but an article posted on a website on the Internet cannot.
Product types
There are so manytypes of print ads. This includes such obvious ones as a leaflet or booklet, and others less obvious, for example, a poster. Many tend to attribute it to the types of outdoor advertising, because in 90% of cases it is placed on the street. But the poster is a unit of printing products, which makes it a means of distributing print advertising.
It is interesting that even an ordinary business card is or can become an advertising message. First, it always contains a brief description of the product or service offered by its owner. Secondly, it contains contact information, which can also be used to guess the scope of the company or individual entrepreneur. Thirdly, the reverse side of the business card can be used to place a more detailed message about the goods and services provided.
Print advertising is an important process. For this, you can use magazines, newspapers, catalogs, book endpapers, covers, bookmarks, packaging, free gift bags.
Most common species
The most common types of print ads are as follows.
The catalog is usually issued in the form of a brochure or book, which indicates a list of goods. Most often, in such a publication, you can place a lot of goods with or without pictures, with an indication of the price, as well as designate additional parameters. Products can be placed alphabetically (A to Z) or in groups with similar characteristics (home, garden).
The catalog differs in the followingparameters:
- a large number of goods;
- availability of product information (dimensions, weight, material, country of origin);
- photo availability;
- good print quality;
- presence of alphabetical and/or thematic index.
Most often, catalogs are designed to last, so they are made from quality materials, including page and cover paper, printing ink, glue, or sewing thread.
Besides the catalog, there are the following types:
- A prospectus is a form of catalogue, but it advertises either one product or items in one category. Inside such a publication, you can provide more detailed information about each of them. It makes sense to print brochures for products with more features, more expensive price ranges or special features that will help people prioritize their purchase in detail. There are several types of prospectuses: prospectus-brochure, prospectus-letter, prospectus with an image of the goods (suitable for samplers of perfumery and cosmetics), prospectus with information from the catalog (as a rule, a product order card comes with it).
- The booklet is a publication folded several times (two, three, four or more). Most often designed for short-term or even single use. In such a publication, both one product and several can be presented. In addition, the booklet can tell about the activities of the company as a whole, its services,merit, special promotions or history. Can sometimes be used for corporate marketing.
Packaging as a marketing message
A paper or other shell that serves to store goods can also be a means of distributing an advertising message. First, it must grab the attention of the consumer. The strongest trend towards beautiful packaging can be seen for more expensive products. Secondly, a fairly large amount of text can be placed on the packaging: talk about the properties of the product, the benefits of its consumption, the conditions for conducting promotions and the company that produces the product.
To make an ordinary package a means of distributing an advertising message, you need to design it in a special way. Firstly, the originality and non-standard packaging, the right color, and ease of use are important. Secondly, the text placed on it should contain graphic images and be easy to read.
Advantages of this type of communication
The main positive aspect of such advertising is its visibility. The visual part enhances perception, and concise and accessible text helps the consumer remember the product. Flyers or brochures, done right, can be an effective marketing solution.
Another positive feature of print advertising is the ability to work with a narrow target audience. Products can be distributed directly to consumers or potential buyers. It doesa single advertising contact is more cost effective. For example, if the product is aimed at young mothers, then it can be distributed in the form of booklets in places where they spend a lot of time: parks, playgrounds, preschool educational and entertainment institutions.
Unfortunately, advertising in print media will cost more, but be more effective in some cases.
The cost of printing in the modern world has also become quite cheap. At the very least, it is cheaper than posting a message on radio or television. If you need effective advertising at minimal budget costs, then you can always make leaflets in black and white and replicate them on a duplicator. Usually the cost of one such leaflet does not exceed 2-3 rubles, that is, it will take less than 10,000 rubles for a circulation of 2,000-3,000 copies.
Disadvantages of print advertising
The most obvious disadvantage of print advertising is the need to commission a design if you want to make something really beautiful and effective. And here you can run into two other difficulties at once:
- Financial side (quality design project will never be cheap).
- Search for a reliable artist (sometimes creative people suffer from inattention, irresponsibility and other not very pleasant things).
When choosing the means of print advertising and creating it, the services of copywriters and / or proofreaders are often required, who could turn an ordinary inconspicuous text into a real "weapon" forwin more consumers.
Do not forget about the category of people who are simply not receptive to print advertising (people without education, the blind and visually impaired, children, expats and some other categories of people).
It's important to remember
To create high-quality advertising in print media, you need to remember the following aspects:
- the title should be short, bright and memorable;
- text - concise, understandable, does not contain words and phrases that are difficult for the mass consumer;
- illustrations add clarity to print ads;
- Print design should be unique and colorful.
Following these rules, you can achieve maximum efficiency from a printed advertising message.
